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My sister had Lego and I had Meccano so for me Lego is a girl's toy. It is amazing how much of this stuff some kids have nowadays. I thought I had a lot of Meccano but it all fitted in a shoe box.
Interesting reflecting on how a hobby seemed to fill our waking hours for what seemed like forever as a child. But it was just maybe 2 or 3 years. Now I find a tool/toy I forgot I had and realise it is 2 or 3 years since I opened that cardboard box. Was it last year I got my first car, no it was 40 years ago.

I have never ever viewed machining as a hobby, its always bee more of an obsession.
I guess reading about it is a hobby to a certain extent.. but
I am much deeper into it than some folks....

When I was in highschool, I did not even learn welding, they could not get me off the lathe.
Then for a lot of years I was out of it, but finally I got a SouthBend. Got interested again and went and took a year of pre app.
I had some money coming from an accident when it came I bought brand new machines..lathe and mill.

I think most people appreciate and enjoy things when they don't have a whole lot and must save up and look for bargains, or rebuild things that are obtained free or dirt cheap. When you can just buy stuff without hardly thinking about it, it becomes too easy to accumulate huge quantities and it becomes boring. I've always tried to see how little I really need to survive and be comfortable, yet I am also a "pack rat" and I buy stuff (especially tools, parts, and materials), because I think I will use them for some interesting projects. But I am surrounded by half-finished projects that became boring once I figured out how to build them, and unless they were actually needed, I just moved on to other challenges.

I enjoy most aspects of machining, but I never got very far into model engines and similar contraptions when they did not fulfill any actual need or desire. I think I enjoy the conception and design process more than actually making the items. This also applies to electronic designs, where now I can create a circuit in LTSpice and run simulations until I'm satisfied that it will work, whereas twenty some years ago I would have to use plug boards or dead bug prototypes and connect meters and scope probes and other instruments to verify operation, sometimes resulting in sparks and magic smoke, and much time soldering and laboriously changing components.

When I was younger, I was still learning a lot and almost everything was a new challenge, and I also seemed to have a lot more spare time and energy. Now I am fairly content just listening to music, watching TV, and interacting with people on forums and Facebook. I also like to spend some time outdoors, but not nearly as much as I once did, when I could easily go on 5-10 mile hikes or play volleyball. I actually enjoy sleeping or just relaxing and reading or observing nature, especially being mostly retired. My previous dog, Muttley, kept me fairly active, but Mr Tibbs is even lower energy than I am, so he does not challenge me to be more active.

For some reason, I regard buying a machine new as somehow "cheating". I started out buying old tools and machines to get a shop going cheaply, even though I could afford to buy a new machine if I wanted. My parents were products of the depression, and it must be in the genes.

So, now I almost regard refurbishing as what I do... The problem being that folks would rather buy a "Rustoleum restoration" than a properly rebuilt machine, and as for re-scraped, some look at it and think it is actually BAD (like it is some form of extreme wear), and others appreciate it but still want it for 50% of the lowest reasonable price for a beater used machine.

refurbishing "just don't pay" in general. There are exceptions. So I refurbish for my own use, and have begun making improvements and sending them in as articles to the magazines. Kinda like what I used to see in HSM in the early issues. Probably that is a lost cause any more, but.......it has to beat some of the articles.

You get to use the -400 on your off time for personal use right? Hopefully fuel included LOL

Noooo! When I am home, I want nothing to do with airplanes, except for R/C ones.

Originally Posted by Bob La Londe

....

At some point before I met her my wife was into Z gage trains. One year I built a plywood platform around our Christmas tree and setup one of her trains on it. I was not impressed with the train itself. Seemed to be a lot noiser than the HO stuff my dad and I played with when I was a kid...

When I layover in Halle, Germany, there is a train store I like to look inside. Bought a Z starter set from him, and some track.

Originally Posted by 3 Phase Lightbulb

... I also used a wireless DCC system with a pair of hand-held remotes that my Son and I would use to control our trains. It that let you select which engine to talk to, control the speed, direction, turn lights on/off, toot the horn, etc. It was loads of fun but unfortunately got boring really quick.

I always wanted to try DCC, but never got into it.

Originally Posted by danlb

All of my hobbies have been transient in nature, spanning a year or two before I move to something else. I enjoy learning the skills required for each hobby more than the hobby itself.

It's easy to spend months or years learning the finer points of things like locksmithing, metal working or welding. Just when you think you have mastered all aspects of using a mill or lathe, there is always something that pops up to catch your attention and starts the learning cycle again.

The trains never held my attention. Once you set it up and showed off your handiwork, the fun was finished.

Dan

I can really relate to this. Something will spark my interest and I need to know everything about it. Once I know what it is about, I often lose interest. But all of my main hobbies eventually come back, it is like a revolving door. Machining is amazing simply because you can apply it to all of your hobbies, has unlimited uses.

I have my dad's Post War Lionel stuff. It's only value to me anymore is sentimental. For that reason I do not ever want to get rid of them, but at the same time I am burdened by them to find a place to store. I have zero interest in stuff that isn't scale or realistic. I had a ton of nice HO scale stuff growing up, but as a young kid, I would end up destroying all of it. Still kick myself over that.

I guess it's like going from a manual mode to CNC Without DCC, you're basically stuck with playing with one engine on the track at a time. With DCC, the track is always fully powered and each engine is fully controllable like a real engine would be. Even with DCC it got boring quickly, but I think it would have got boring almost immediately without DCC.

I hear you.....my hobby has become building a shop. I don't like it much anymore, I want to make creative things and model engines, but I also really like making them using the best tools...which means reconditioning, repairing and making tools/tooling. Even when you buy something in nice shapre, there's always a stand to make, or tooling etc. I've got so many 'shop' projects, make something to make something to make something I'm not even sure whats what anymore, where I am or where its going. I'm a lot happier with it all than that probably makes it sound, but there is definitely a danger in taking on too much such that it sometimes resembles a burden.

I guess the path to a happy psychology is remembering none of the crap has real value as an end game, its the journey, learning, solving the puzzle and the cumulative small accomplishments that make it enjoyable.

Ever hear that saying.. "don't turn your hobby into a business or it'll ruin your hobby"?

I never did agree with that. It took me 5 years out of engineering school sitting at a desk to realize that wasn't for me. First I followed my woodworking hobby into a business. Sold that business to follow hobby machining plus engineering into a really serious business.

I think I'm currently under-hobbyed. I build theatrical widgets, and renovate/maintain rental property for a living, so I don't crave shop time. I combined my 2 longtime sports of fishing and kayaking into kayak fishing, but rarely get out more than once a week even when the weather is warm. I'm contemplating taking up pool again by rejoining the APA league.